Okay
by break me like a promise
Summary: and it's not the way they planned but she got her happy ending. /or, hermione ruining her own wedding for the sake of love.


**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, this wouldn't have needed to happen. All amazing characters belong to J.K. Rowling, the genius who created most of our childhoods. **

Hermione sighed as she slipped a stack of envelopes into the Muggle mailbox with her left hand. She glanced at the ring on her fourth finger, a large diamond glistening on top of the silver band. This one trip to the post office almost made it…official. Real. Actually happening. In seven weeks.

She was marrying Ron Weasley in seven weeks.

It hadn't exactly set in. It was almost as if anything could change at any moment.

Harry sighed as he got up to get the mail. Yes, Harry Potter was receiving Muggle post. Not that he ever got much mail from Muggles that wasn't bills or the newspaper. He just figured that, in order to blend into a Muggle neighborhood, he ought to check mail.

It was there, standing in his driveway, that he first saw the invitation. Hermione's elegant script addressed the letter to 'Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter.' Harry smiled when he saw that. It still amazed him that he was actually married to Ginny Weasley. What nearly amazed him more was that it was perfectly alright with Ron.

Ron had always been a little uneasy when it came to Harry and Ginny's relationship. Well, maybe 'uneasy' isn't the word for it. 'Protective' would be more accurate. Though he hadn't been invited, Ron had come to help his sister pick out her wedding dress, making sure she would be "completely covered up." He hadn't watched their first kiss as a married couple, or any others during the wedding. Or before that, for that matter.

But he hadn't stopped them from getting married. Harry and Ginny had both been very nervous as the preacher had spoken the words allowing anyone to speak up against their union. They had looked at Ron, who blushed the classic Weasley blush, and mouthed two words. "It's okay."

_Okay_. The word circled Harry's brain in an endless loop. _Okay_. Something about remembering his best friend and brother-in-law's approval put Harry on edge. It was almost as if he _couldn't_ approve. But that was absurd. Of course he approved of the marriage of his two best friends. How could he not?

But, then again, how could he?

Hermione walked closer in disbelief. The woman in the mirror…was her? The one in the wedding dress? The one with her once bushy brown hair, now pinned up into an elegant bun on the top of her head? The one whose eyes were excited for her wedding, and then her life afterwards with the man she loved?

But also the one whose eyes held-was it fear? Or regret?

Yes.

It was. Hermione Jean Granger, looking in the mirror for the last time, before returning with a new name. _Weasley._

Hermione Jean Granger-_Weasley_.

_Daughter-in-law_ to Molly and Arthur.

_Sister-in-law_ to Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, and Ginny.

It all seemed far away, as if it was someone else. She bit her lip, troubled by what she thought next. _I wish it was someone else_.

It wasn't that she didn't like the Weasleys. They were like her family, her parents, her siblings, maybe even closer. They were all like one big family. The Weasleys, her, and Harry.

_Harry_.

She suddenly sat, wrinkling the bottom of her ball gown styled dress, and pondering how to tell Ron she couldn't go through with this.

Harry sat next to Ginny in the backyard of his in-laws. They were in the same fold up chairs used for the weddings of Bill and Fleur, Percy and Audrey, Fred and Angelina, for himself and Ginny, and finally for Ron and Hermione. It was the same setting, the same preacher, the same tent that would soon be over their heads. But it should be no less exciting.

On the contrary, it felt as if it was more nerve-wracking than exciting. Harry knew he should be happy that things were finally working out for his two best friends.

For Ron. The youngest son of the family, getting married at last. The one who took the most time to plan his proposal, settling on the 10 year anniversary of their first trip on the Hogwarts Express. He had proposed to Hermione at the Burrow, at the exact spot all his family had been married before them. It was the exact spot they would also be married on in-Harry checked Fabian Prewett's old watch - 20 minutes. The thought was unsettling.

_You should be happy for them_, Harry thought to himself, trying not to look at his wife.

For Hermione. But he couldn't lie to himself anymore. He wasn't happy for them. He closed his eyes, dreading what was to come, and selfishly planning how to stop it.

Hermione gripped her father's arm tightly before letting go and hugging him, telling him she loved him. Dr. Granger looked into his daughter's eyes and repeated her promise. He told her he was happy for her, as long as she was happy. She faked a smile before turning to her…fiancé.

Hermione was startled to realize she was crying silently. Ron smiled, and then looked down at her dress. "You look so beautiful, Hermione. Are you okay?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. _Ready for this to be over_, she added as an afterthought. She looked into the audience, and caught Harry's eye. "Not okay," she mouthed, knowing Ron couldn't see what she said through the side of her veil.

Harry looked into her eyes, "No, not okay," he said silently.

"Help." They both pleaded in unison, without uttering a word.

Their eye contact was broken as the preacher began to speak. Hermione had no choice but to look at Ron, but she was unable to see his face through her tears. She felt as if she should be on alert, though all she felt was an odd sort of numbness.

Ron took her hands in his, and she could tell he was nervous. His thumb rubbed against her fingers absently.

"…Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Suddenly, Hermione was on hyper alert, praying that Harry might come to her rescue. His eyes reached hers again, though he said nothing, mouthed nothing. His hand reached up, and Hermione's hopes flew…only to land on his scar, the way he did when he was nervous. _He's nervous. He doesn't want the others to think he's ruining our marriage. I have to do this on my own. _

She stared anxiously out at the crowd of people she loved. To her dismay, no one—not a single hand went up. All her hopes of being saved by someone else were in vain.

Ron's echo from Harry and Ginny's wedding circled through her mind, "It's okay." She hoped he would be the same way, but doubted it. It was his wedding, too.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley," the preacher continued on with the vows, "do you take Hermione Jean Granger to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Ron smiled, lighting up his whole face, crushing Hermione's last chance. "I do."

"And do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take Ronald Bilius Weasley to be you lawfully wedded husband?"

Pause. All she could do was stare at that anxious face in front of her.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Until-

"…I…can't, Ron. I'm so sorry. I love you, but…" Hermione hated that particular phrase; she was now wishing she could take it back and still get her point across.

The audience gasped, Mrs. Weasley and several others cursed under their breath.

Ron's faced turned red, and she prepared for the worst. He paused, lost in thought before continuing. "I know. I _know_. The way you look at him, it's not the way you look at me. You love…" He glanced at his sister, who was crying, the realization finally coming over her. He looked at his best friend, and knew by the look in his eyes, it was him. It had always been Harry that Hermione loved with her whole heart. Harry stared into his lap, his face pale.

Ron stared, thinking.

_I left them. Back in 7__th__ year. I ran away because they thought I didn't care. They can't forgive me. And then…there's the fact I left them alone for a few months. They were bound to end up with feelings for each other. I just… hoped they didn't. But that wasn't fair to them. They're my best friends. They may not forgive me, but I can forgive them._

"You love someone else. I was just prepared to love you until you realized it. Or I hoped you would never realize it. But you did, and I still love you, Hermione. Nothing can change that. Nothing." He half- smiled. "You look like you were prepared for a heated fight." He thought a moment. "Yeah, I can see that. I'm sorry you thought that."

"Ron, I'm so sorry. I really do love you. I just…love someone else more." With a last glance at Ron, who nodded, Hermione turned to the audience, made solely of people she considered close enough to be family. "I…um, I know you all came here for a wedding. And…I know that I've just disappointed all of you, the Weasleys especially.

"Mrs. Weasley, I know this is… selfish of me, to say 'Yes,' and then say 'No' when it really matters. I still love all of you-so much. You're like my family, even now. I…" She couldn't continue, the tears coming all too quickly.

"Hermione, dear," Mrs. Weasley comforted, coming to a stand, "We understand. We don't want you to be unhappy, because you are our family. You should know- you can still come over anytime. But…it might get awkward, considering…" She trailed off into an oddly comforting silence.

"That's an understatement!" a voice yelled.

"George! Please…this is not a joking matter." But, as Mrs. Weasley said it, she, too, chuckled.

Ron's slowly fading ears regained a full red color. "Mum. Stop. I'm not ready for you to make jokes just yet. And… I'm guessing I'm not the only one."

Hermione's eyes turned to Ginny, but she was nowhere to be seen. Nor was Harry. She looked towards the house, and saw them talking in the living room. She could only imagine what her best girlfriend was saying to the man she loved. But, being who she was, let them be.

Ron beckoned for her to come with him around the shed. She did so timidly, afraid of what he might say now that his family was gone.

"Alright there, Hermione?"

"Harry!" She ran into his arms, finally smiling, thankful the other Weasleys and her own parents were inside. Hermione had just emerged from behind the shed after a few moments of thinking, and Ron was walking with Ginny in the apple orchard.

She was still crying from before, though her almost wedding felt like a very distant past. But she felt safe in his arms. Like she belonged there. It felt wonderful. So much better than just "okay."

**Please review and tell me what you think! **


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